24 Jan 2024
Augustinus Lustrum: organizing a 15-day lustrum celebration
Event type
Lustrum
Visitors
4.000
Duration
15 days
Services
Tactile eco-system
Over the past year, Aniek had the opportunity to organize her association’s Lustrum for its 2,200 active members. This Lustrum celebration consisted of activities throughout the entire year, culminating in fifteen days of festivities during the summer. As Operations Officer of the Lustrum Committee, she was responsible for the entire beverage and food provision.
Aniek Wiggers studies Law at Leiden University. As an enthusiastic member of the student association L.V.V.S. Augustinus, she decided to also take on a role in organizing the Lustrum celebration in the summer of 2023, fulfilling the position of Operations Officer. Following the event, she works part-time as an Account Manager at Tactile, focusing on the lustrum and student market.
Aniek Wiggers
Operations Officer
Simplicity with one partner
The most challenging task was bringing together the various facets, both logistically and in terms of communication with all parties involved. Especially because we were already in contact with so many different parties, it was sometimes difficult to maintain a clear overview. To regain that overview, I started looking for an all-in-one provider, which led me to Tactile.
Through Tactile, it was possible to combine several services. When visitors purchased a ticket, this information was immediately displayed in the event app, and at the entrance control, the ticket was converted into a wristband containing their balance for cashless payments. In this way, we as the Lustrum Committee were relieved of many concerns, as we only needed one partner for all these services. More importantly, it was clear and convenient for visitors, whose needs were fully met through their wristband and the event app.
Nevertheless, the Lustrum once again demonstrated that no matter how well you prepare, some things will always turn out differently than expected. Fortunately, this was not a problem at all. Any questions or uncertainties from Augustinus members could easily be resolved using Tactile’s mobile scanner, which I always carried with me. By simply scanning their wristband, I could access all the relevant information about that person and assist them quickly.
The intensity, complexity, and uniqueness of organizing a lustrum
It is quite unique for an event to last this long: 15 consecutive days celebrating 130 years of Augustinus. How do you manage this effectively? The integration of tickets, access, and event payments into a single wristband made life significantly more pleasant for us as organizers, and certainly for visitors as well. This is mainly because your access pass is always with you, just like your balance. It is not easily lost, is personalized, and, importantly, the wristband is not easily damaged. This ensured that thousands of visitors could enter quickly at the access control, which only enhanced the festive atmosphere.
Integrations and collaborations via tactile
Coincidentally, we heard from Tactile that they had entered into a new partnership with Locker Company, a well-known and experienced name in the festival industry in the field of event lockers. In combination with a ticket, visitors could purchase a locker, or they could buy one on-site using the same wristband. Thanks to the integration, locker details were immediately visible in the event app. Often, people share lockers to split the costs. Fortunately, this had also been considered, and it was easy to share your code via WhatsApp through the app.
We already had a partner for ticketing, but Tactile offered to create an integration with Link2Ticket, allowing us to start sales early.
Everything digital creates room for insight
An unexpected advantage of the various services integrated through the dashboard was that everything could be monitored and reviewed in real time: from the number of visitors present for safety purposes to the number of drinks ordered per bar. This enabled us to make better decisions regarding staffing and inventory, both on subsequent days and on-site. At the end of each day, it was also valuable to gain insight into the financial situation, allowing us to potentially launch additional marketing actions.
The Tactile Way
We received a great deal of positive feedback during the event. In our experience, this was partly due to Tactile’s products being designed with the visitor in mind. Such as the speed of entry, the personal agenda accessible in the event app, or the quick payments at the bar to make sure you never find yourself with an empty glass at your lustrum. ;)
It was great to see that Tactile truly understood what we as a Lustrum Committee needed and which potential bottlenecks might arise. This is partly because they work with many student organizations and associations, but also because they themselves have once carried the responsibility of organizing a similar event.
The Lustrum was amazing, too bad we now have to wait another five years!
